Silver moss

Mostly shrub or bush shaped symbiosis of fungi and unicellular algae.

Silvermoss grows in the mountains and in cooler parts of Europe, Asia, North America and Tasmania.

Extracts are used in deodorants, perfumes, aftershave, lotions (herb-male smell!).

Allergens are usnic acid, perlatolic acid and other lichen ingredients with depsin/desidone character. Sensitizing potency: Weak to medium strong. Frequency of sensitization: Rare.

While in Scandinavia, especially in Northern Finland, up to 10% of the collectors who collect lichens suffer from hand eczema, we only occasionally see silver moss contact allergy in cemetery gardeners and florists. Contact with Christmas and model railway decoration material also occasionally leads to sensitization. Several times a phototoxic or even photoallergic effect has been attributed to lichen. Questionable weak allergenic effect for atranrin and usnic acid.

Silver Moss is mostly imported from Scandinavia in wet or dried form. It is processed into gift articles, wall decorations, cemetery wreaths and flower arrangements. Preferred times of use are Sunday of death, Day of Prayer and Repentance, Christmas. It is also used as an addition to floral arrangements and as a toy, e.g. for making trees for model railways. In Scandinavia the lichen is fed to livestock, especially to reindeer, because of its high protein content, hence the name reindeer lichen.